When we heard that Catholic University was having a design contest for the an altar and chair for Francis to use during his visit to the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, we were interested. When we found out the prize money was $6000 we became very interested. After all, think of what we could do to this blog with $6000! We immediately set about creating a table suitable for the Novus Ordo and a chair worthy enough for one as humble as Francis. To finish it off we added the human touch of Solo cups, which Francis' prelates used during his outdoor Messes in Rio, Brazil and Manila, Philippines, and then added a nod to the root of his faith, Hasidic Judaism, on top of the picnic table.
Call Me Jorge's rejected entry with dunk tank chair
and picnic table with Chasid menorah & Solo cups
Sadly, the Catholic University informed us that Team Call Me Jorge was not eligible to enter the competition as none of us were attending the school. Our hopes for a wild card entry were also dashed by the president of the university. Check out the winning entry below, we feel ours is not only more sustainable as it comes from already built materials but also cheaper and more suitable towards the banal tastes of Francis.
The Winning Design!!!
They better make that chair out of sturdy wood and make it double-wide.
A team consisting of Matthew Hoffman of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ariadne Cerritelli of Bethesda, Maryland, and Joseph Taylor of Eldersburg, Maryland designed the winning entry. They said,
and further explained,
Monsignor Walter Rossi, rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception where Francis will be holding court said,
Cardinal Donald Wuerl chimed in with his two cents,
“The creativity, beauty and thought that went into each of the submitted designs is a visible sign of God’s grace at work among us in a unique way.”
...Cardinal Wuerl also remarked on the “incredible task” the teams faced in having just two weeks to design an altar, chair and pulpit that will remain in the basilica “for generations and generations to see.”
Perhaps Team Call Me Jorge should have spent longer than 15 minutes on our design but we believe bringing a picnic table and dunk chair, both from the outdoors or from the peripheries of American life, inside of a Basilica is just the type of revolutionary statement Francis would want to make. After all if one doesn't like the design they must be unreceptive to receiving the Holy Spirit and surprises from God, at least that's what Francis would say. The University's President Mr. John Garvey summed up the competition,
In all seriousness, if that cardboard chair and table which won the competition are a thing of beauty then we have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell to anyone who is interested.
